Intersection of Bloor St. & Yonge St.
Browns
Calvin Klein Underwear
Capezio
Chanel 
Christofle 
Club Monaco
Coach
Cole Haan
Davids
Davids 
Escada 
Escada
French Connection
Gap
Guerlain
Guess 
H&M
H&M
H&M
Harry Rosen
Harry Rosen
Hermes
Holt Renfrew
Holt Renfrew
Holt Renfrew
Holt Renfrew
Holt Renfrew
Ilori
Ilori
Ilori
Jacob
Jacob
Lacoste
L'Occitane
L'Occitane
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton
MAC Cosmetics
Marciano
Marciano
Marciano
Marciano
Lululemon
Max Mara
Mendocino
Mendocino
Mendocino
Mendocino
Nine West
Noir
Noir
Park Hyatt
Park Hyatt
Ports
Pottery Barn
Pottery Barn
Pottery Barn Kids
Pottery Barn Kids
Prada
Prada
Puma
Puma
Roots
Sephora
Swarovski
Swarovski
The Royal Ontario Museum/ROM
Tiffany & Co.
Town Shoes
United Colors of Benetton
United Colors of Benetton
Williams Sonoma
Williams Sonoma
ZaraCOUPLE of weeks ago, on a very warm night - it was about 20 degrees Celsius - I took a stroll along Bloor St. W & snapped some pics. What you see above is a good representation of the retail nirvana that is Bloor St. W between Yonge St. & Avenue Rd. Also called the "Mink Mile", the nickname refers to the high-end stores occupying this neighbourhood that I wouldn't dare step foot in without a winning lottery ticket burning a hole in my handbag.
Just in case you like to plan your shopping sprees in advance, here's a list of (most of) the stores you'll find along this stretch of concrete:
Aldo
Godiva Chocolatier
Mont Blanc
Aritzia
Gucci
nike
Banana Republic
Guerlain
Nine West
Bang & Olufsen
Guess
Noir
Birks
H&M
Ports
Browns
Harry Rosen
Pottery Barn
Calvin Klein Underwear
Hermes
Capezio
hmv
Prada
Cartier
Holt Renfrew
Puma
Chanel
Ilori
Roots
Christofle
Jacob
Royal de Versailles
Club Monaco
Lacoste
Sephora
Coach
L'Occitane
Swarovski
Cole Haan
Louis Vuitton
Davids
Lululemon
The Body Shop
Escada
MAC Cosmetics
Tiffany & Co.
French Connection/fcuk
Marciano
Town Shoes
Gap
Max Mara
United Colors of Benetton
Mendocino
William Ashley
Williams Sonoma
Zara
A few other noteworthy locales: Starbucks for your well-deserved coffee break, the Park Hyatt where you can get a massage at the renowned Stillwater Spa, The Royal Ontario Museum (or "ROM" ) for when you're tired of looking at handbags (nevah!), & believe it or not, there's the Church of the Redeemer at the corner of Bloor St. W & Avenue Rd. You can't redeem your gift cards there, but you can say a prayer for yourself after having spent $800 on a pair of boots at Davids.
Major construction at the corner of Bloor & Yonge has screwed up traffic since August. We better get used to it because crews will be around for at least another 3 years erecting the mixed-use skyscraper called 1 Bloor East. I didn't know (until I consulted Wikipedia) what a big deal it's going to be: 81 stories of condos & hotel rooms which will designate it as the tallest habitable building in Canada, surpassing the 72-story First Canadian Place at King St.West, which currently holds that title.
According to The Globe & Mail, the Mink Mile is getting a $20-million makeover (Update: $25-mill according to Eye Weekly - Oct.2-2008). Amongst the proposals? Black granite sidewalks. Well, that's going to look hot, but will they be heated so that the "Ladies Who Lunch" crowd can glide daintily over them in their Manolo Blahniks during the dead of winter? I don't know but I'll keep you posted as events unfold. Then again, who knows where I'll be by the time this neighbourhood's complete? The way the economy's going, it's really hard to say where anyone will be, isn't it? At this point, I remain optimistic. Hey, in my mind, I'm already picking out furniture for my $5-million suite at The Regency in Yorkville. Why, you may wonder, would I entertain such thoughts when I'm as broke as I've ever been? Well, to paraphrase a quote by Virgil: because I can. After all, it costs nothing to think big and the benefits could be immense.
Update: (Eye Weekly - Oct.2-2008) In August 2008 William Ashley China Ltd. filed an action in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for a declaration that the city's decision to proceed with the Bloor St. Transformation Project was illegal. (They want more parking spaces, according to Eye Weekly.)
Bloor St.
BloorStreet.com
Yorkville
Holt Renfrew
1 Bloor St. E.
